An Innovator’s City Guide to Tallinn, Estonia

This article is part of a series of city guides to innovation hubs around the world. Each guide features a set of locations to help connect innovators and entrepreneurs to like-minded communities across the globe. A city local—who’s also a leader of the SingularityU Chapter in that city—has curated these destinations to get you plugged into the network in no time.

Today’s post focuses on Tallinn, Estonia. Check out our other city guides and make sure to visittheSingularityU Global Hubto connect with Singularity University community members worldwide.

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, a country that has emerged over the last 20 years as one of the most advanced digital societies in the world. The birthplace of Skype, it has earned the nickname e-Estonia because of its vibrant tech ecosystem.

When visiting Tallinn, make sure you visit the e-Estonia showroom and peek inside the only government in the world that is fully operational in the cloud. Next, visit the numerous incubators, accelerators, and co-working spaces, such as the home of the Estonian startup community Lift99 or the Business and Innovation Centre of Tallinn University of Technology (TTÜ). Beyond tech, try a walking tour of Tallinn Old Town, one of the oldest medieval city centers in Europe, and check out Lennusadam, the unforgettable Seaplane Harbour that’s home to a maritime and military museum.

Mektory, the Business and Innovation Centre of Tallinn University of Technology (TTÜ), brings scientists, students, and entrepreneurs together to work on real-world challenges in product development and technology transfer.

Telliskivi Creative City is a collection of factory buildings that has been transformed into a popular hangout and office space with off-beat restaurants, art expos, flea markets, alternative theater, and clubbing. The reclaimed space is also home to Estonian startup heavyweights Garage48/Lift99, Funderbeam, Elevate, and over 200 other businesses, companies, and NGOs.

Estonian Business Angels Network is an umbrella organization for business angels in Estonia and its neighboring countries. The network reviews applications for entrepreneurs seeking investment and offers opportunities for potential investors to fund startups jointly rather than as individuals.

Let’s Do It! World was founded when 50,000 volunteers united to clean up all of Estonia in just five hours. In the 10 years since then, 20 million volunteers in 120 different countries have followed suit, uniting to clean up their communities as part of the Let’s Do It! program.

Tallinn University of Technology (TTÜ) is the flagship of Estonian engineering and technology education, with an active business and innovation center, Mektory, that organizes technology transfer between the university and private companies.

This article is for informational purposes only. All opinions in this post are the author’s alone and not those of Singularity University. Neither this article nor any of the listed information therein is an official endorsement by Singularity University.

Siim Saare is the founder of SingularityU Tallinn and CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Baltics. As the ambassador of Singularity University in Estonia, Siim is actively working to promote high-impact innovation in the region.